Two days went by quickly. The caravan made significant progress on their long journey; after the countless fields of what still waiting to be harvested, Li Wei and his group were now slowly making their way through a vast green forest: The Mirage Forest.
It was a strange place. There were rumors that an evil cult was actually hiding there, using illusions to hide from the empire's army. The Mirage Forest was considered as a relatively dangerous place. If possible, people would usually avoid it. However, when the players asked the merchants about their decisions, they answered that they were in a hurry and needed to quickly reach Verdan Town.
By going in a straight line through the Mirage Forest, they would effectively be able to save a whole day's worth of time. The journey from Algate City to Verdan Town could in fact only be completed in 5 days if they went through the Mirage Forest. It was something the players were not aware of. They were not told the itinerary they would take, only the destination. As a result, they could only internally grumble for not asking for more details. They had already signed the contract and could not back off now. Even if they backed off, that would mean wasting 5 whole days considering that they would need to return to Algate City.
The mood was not at its best, especially since the weather was very capricious. After yesterday's lunch, clouds suddenly started to gather all over the county and naturally, it did not take long before it started raining.
Li Wei was not prepared for this situation. Considering that he never really had to travel in the rain, he never thought about it. Fortunately, he was traveling with merchants; after taking out 2 gold, he was given a simple coat with a hood. He was certain the merchants were taking advantage of the situation to highly overprice the coat but what could he do? Traveling in the rain would definitely affect his status. Li Wei could only fork out his gold.
Many players were already prepared for this situation. It was not the first time they were taking escort missions. Fortunately, Li Wei was not the only one caught unprepared, the young couple and the mage also joined the club, and all had to take out some gold for a coat.
Over the past two days, the awkwardness between the players slowly disappeared. They spent a lot of time together setting the camp at night and fighting monsters. They slowly got used to each other and were even chatting when they were riding their horses. Li Wei was no exception and quickly integrated with the group.
The mage was called Maestra. She was, in fact, a relatively famous streamer in real life. Despite joining the game, she did not give up her passion and was recording every second of their journey. Li Wei was puzzled at first when he heard Maestra randomly speak aloud but when he asked, he understood why.
She was using a [Recording Crystal] which acted like a camera. With it, Maestra could continuously film her environment. The Recording Crystal came as an accessory in the form of a pendant. She would often grab her pendant and raise it to get a better angle.
The [Recording Crystal] was not cheap. It was considered as a grade 1 equipment even if it gave no stats or benefits. It cost 20 gold despite its recording duration lasting only for 3 hours. After these 3 hours, Maestra would simply take out another Recording Crystal. At the end of the day, she would quickly filter the day's event and post it on the forum in the entertainment category.
The forum became an indispensable part of the players' life. It was like the internet where almost everything could be found. People would browse the forum daily and as a result, several categories were created, including the entertainment category. Maestra posted videos daily on the forum and actually gathered a significant number of viewers for each one. She was definitely not the most popular, but she was faring for herself and a few players even donated a few gold here and there.
...
"We shall stop here for the night!" declared the merchant leader as he jumped off his horse.
Quickly, everyone dismounted and started to set up the camp. It was a normal procedure. They were now too far from the city or any town to be able to enjoy the luxury of an inn. The players could only set tents and eat their cold rations. As for the merchants, they slept in their carts which were more comfortable than outside tents.
"Let's go grab some wood for the fire," said Li Wei to Galaxy who was standing next to him.
The latter nodded with a "mmm". The two belonged to rival guilds and maintained some distance between them. But for the success of the quest, they worked together on several occasions when they fought beasts.
The Mirage Forest housed level 13-18 Red Foxes. Strangely, these foxes seemed to be avoiding them when they went through the forest. There would be times when Li Wei would see some Red Foxes staring at them in the distance. However, they never attacked the caravan, not even once as if they were afraid of something.
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Despite its reputation, Li Wei found the Mirage Forest completely normal. It did not differ much from the other forests he visited; there was even a thin path which allowed the carts to pass through the trees.
Galaxy quickly walked to the side bushes and started picking some twigs. Sometimes, they would find some dead branches or if they were unlucky, then they would simply cut a few branches off a tree.
Lighting up a fire was essential. It would provide a source of heat and also keep the wild animals away. More importantly, it was used to cook a few meals. The merchants would take out some ingredients every day and cook their meal. Unfortunately, they did not share it with the players. After the generosity of the first day, the players had to fend for themselves.
"What do you think of this forest?" suddenly asked Galaxy.
"Huh?"
"I have a bad feeling about this place. You know about the rumors that an evil cult has a group of followers here?"
"Naturally, but we just have to be careful and it will be alright," answered Li Wei.
"It is just that after serving in the military, I just have a bad feeling whenever something is about to happen."
Hearing that, Li Wei frowned, "Do you think we are already trapped in an illusion?"
"I don't think so..."
"Then did you tell the others?" asked Li Wei with suspicion in his eyes.
"Not yet. I only told you that because you were from the Fleeting Clouds Sect. As for the others, you can warn them but again, there is no guarantee that something will happen. It is just my gut feeling," answered Galaxy while picking another branch.
"There is no need to alarm them without any proof."
“Let's go back then. We have enough wood for the night. The others should also have gathered some."
Galaxy nodded before following behind Li Wei. The latter was already walking back towards the camp and did not hear Galaxy murmur: "Tsssk... I thought he was smarter than that, there is definitely something wrong... I'll have to rely on myself."
He quietly walked behind as he focused on Li Wei and in his eyes, a few numbers appeared above the head of Li Wei. A few seconds later, the glasses he was wearing trembled for a moment and the numbers disappeared.
"High Dexterity and decent Strength... Interesting"
...
Back at the camp, a fire was already started by the NPC adventurers. Many tents were also set up on the side and the horses were fed.
"Come everyone! Let's share a good meal! I feel sorry for not warning you that we will be going through the Mirage Forest. We have some extra meal portions here. You can have them for free! It will change from the usual cold rations!" declared the merchant leader as he signaled everyone to approach.
Li Wei and the players were discussing among themselves while taking out their rations. When they heard the merchant leader, they were all naturally attracted!
How could a nice hot meal compare to rations? Especially after traveling in the rain for hours, everyone just wanted something warm.
One of the merchants took out a huge cooking pot and started pouring water. The rest quickly brought vegetables and pieces of meat, as well as some spices.
"Ahh, I wish I knew how to cook!" said Maestra on the side. The little mage quickly took out her Recording Crystal and started filming the merchants who were preparing the ingredients.
Seeing the enormous amount of food, Li Wei, and the players quickly went to help the merchants. Although they were not cooks, there was no need to have the profession to be able to cut or peel the vegetables.
A few minutes later, the water in the pot was boiling; a merchant quickly threw some spices in the form of powders and quickly, an appetizing smell rose from the pot. The pieces of meat were quickly added, followed by the vegetables.
"It is a pity we don't have any alcohol..." complained one of the NPC adventurers.
But he was quickly hit on the head, "You still need to do your watch tonight! Don't think you'll escape this time! Tonight, you'll have the second shift!"
"What? No not the second shift!!!"
Everyone laughed when they looked at the adventurer's reaction. The second shift of the watch was indeed the worst one. Simply because his sleep would be interrupted in the middle of the night; the first shift would simply mean that he would sleep later than usual while the last shift meant he would wake up earlier. But the second shift was simply cutting his sleep into 2 parts.
"Now now. The soup is ready! There is also some bread here. Pass it around!" said a merchant while taking out loaves of bread. Quickly, everyone received a piece and eagerly waited for the soup.
The appetizing suddenly burst out of the pot as the lid was removed and a merchant swiftly served everyone.
"Thank you!"
"Thanks!"
Although the portions were not massive, there was definitely enough for a meal. It was just that in these conditions, the soup looked extremely enticing and everyone wanted a larger portion. The players all quickly thanked the merchants as they started eating.
The merchant leader smiled, "You don't need to thank me. Escort us to safety is already enough!"
With that, everyone ate peacefully. Li Wei quickly attacked his plate. The soup was rather thick and contained a lot of common vegetables. A large chicken thigh could also be found bathing in the middle of the carrots and potatoes.
Li Wei felt a feeling of warmth go down his body as he drank the soup. It was a very comfortable feeling. The loaf of bread perfectly complemented the soup, adding some texture and at the same time some flavor. Everyone seemed to enjoy this hot meal.
The merchants even took out a bottle and passed it among themselves. Unfortunately, the players and the adventurers did not get any sips since they would need to stay on guard during the night.
After the meal, Li Wei went back to his tent and sat down for a while. This journey was proving to be not as bad as he thought. Despite the bad weather, Li Wei enjoyed being able to look at different landscapes and be closer to nature. The biggest downside was not being able to practice his techniques.
It was not that it was forbidden, but he did not like the fact that Galaxy would observe him whenever he would start training. As a result, Li Wei simply chose to not train for the rest of the journey. It would only last five days at most.
After checking the forum for any interesting news, Li Wei closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.
...
"Boom!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Bang!"
Li Wei suddenly jolted awake. No matter how deep his sleep was, there was no way he would not hearing these. It sounded like people were fighting!
He quickly got up and drew his swords but at that moment, a "-5" appeared above his head.
"What?"
When he looked at his HP bar, he could not help but panic! He already had less than 60 HP which represented less than half of his Max HP.
He quickly looked for the source of these strange events and found the answer in his event logs.
[You have been afflicted by an unknown poison. Dexterity and Strength -3]
[You have been afflicted by an unknown poison. HP -5]
[You have been afflicted by an unknown poison. HP -5]